Fresh Connections – The Parfitt Way Blog

The Bainbridge Island Arts and Humanities Council which sponsors Celluloid Bainbridge, the Bainbridge Island Film Festival, has selected a very topical film by Mark Davis titled, “Against the Tide”.

This film which discusses the struggle of live aboard boaters in Eagle Harbor will be screened at 10:00 am Saturday November 2nd as part of the three day film festival featuring many short films as well as full length documentaries covering environmental issues, autism and children’s stories.

Four years in the making Against the Tide features interviews with residents who are fighting to maintain their traditional way of life aboard their floating homes. Also featured are the representatives from Washington State and locals who see these floating homes as derelict and as sources of pollution. View a trailer

Headlining the festival is the film, “A Fierce Green Fire.” Spanning the first 50 years of the environmental movement from grassroots activism to the challenges of global warming this film has been presented to acclaim worldwide. Narrated by Robert Redford, Meyrl Streep, Isabel Allende and more this film presents the beginnings through the current state of the movement to save the world. This film opens the festival November 1st at the Historic Lynnwood Theatre and Bainbridge Cinemas. An opening night celebration will be at The Marketplace at Pleasant Beach. Come and meet the filmmakers and special guests and enjoy wine, beer and hors d’ouveres.

Click here for more information on the film festival plus all the other arts supported for Bainbridge Island

The time has come.  It is now the most haunted season of the year.  The Kitsap County Fairgrounds have been transformed into the Kitsap Haunted Fairgrounds, and if you’re itching for a good scare or simply a fun and thrilling thing to do on a Saturday night, make your way over to their chilling location in Silverdale.

Started in 2003, the “haunted house”, as it were, is located in three buildings on the fairgrounds.  The buildings are connected, and from the ticket booth guests are led (and followed by compellingly grim and macabre zombie actors) into the haunted maze.  The volunteers who act as ghouls and zombies for the event are terrifying.  I visited the haunted fairgrounds on Halloween night of 2008, and never made it past buying my ticket.  I was too afraid.  In fact, I (an 18 year-old at the time) was pursued out of the venue by a grisly and bloodily costumed 10 year-old actor, whose stares gave me the biggest chills I have ever experienced.  I proceeded to wait for my friends to finish the haunt.

Island resident Aryn Versteegh, 22, has also visited the Kitsap Haunted Fairgrounds.  Unlike this writer, Versteegh made it through the ordeal.

“I really liked it,” she said.  “My favorite was when they chased us out (at the end) with a chainsaw!  They get you to do a lot and you think you’re safe, then you’re not!”

The Kitsap Haunted Fairgrounds is run entirely by local volunteers who are partnered with Kitsap County Parks and Recreation.  This year, as part of a new partnership with the Kitsap-North Kitsap Rotary, all proceeds will directly benefit the local community and charities chosen by the Rotary organization.

The event will run for five more days in October –  the 18^th, 19^th, 25^th, 26^th and on Halloween – plus the first two days of November.  While they do have one hour when guests can experience the haunt with the lights on, I strongly encourage everyone to go for the full scare later on in the evenings!!

For more information on the Kitsap Haunted Fairgrounds, or to find out how to volunteer, visit their website at www.kitsaphauntedfairgrounds.com.

Yes, folks….after 21 years our entire exhaust system is getting a makeover. That means we’ll be closed for another three or four days.

Watch our Facebook page for up to the minute updates https://www.facebook.com/harbourpub

Cheers!

C’mon back real soon.

Cycling knows no season on Bainbridge Island but October is a very special month for cruising the lanes and roads for fun, exercise and good causes. October 13 brings out the crowds for the Second Annual Farm Fresh Scramble. This event is a fund raiser for the Gear Grinders High School Mountain Bike Club for their upcoming season. Made up of participants from Eagle Harbor and Bainbridge High Schools the funds support the team with transportation, equipment and other supplies. As this is not an official school sponsored sport, memberships and events are the main revenue source. Join in the fun and support the team. The event runs from 9am to 4:30pm and is at the Johnson Farm, (south of High School Road on Fletcher Bay Road). This event is open to all and is not just for the experts. Visit here for details

Touring Bainbridge Island is always a fun and popular trip. Riding the ferry from downtown Seattle is a marvelous way to start any ride and the first stop is always in town for coffee and to tank up on some healthy snacks for the trip. Making a loop visiting the parks that are the crown jewels of Bainbridge Island is a great way to spend any day. Fort Ward, Blakely Harbor Park, Gazzam Lake nature Preserve and the rotary Centennial Park are just a few. Here are details on locations of the parks, amenities and hours. Plan your trip soon.

All of this can serve to get the cyclist prepped for the big one. The Chilly Hilly on the last Sunday in February. At 33 miles with about 2,700 feet of elevation gain this is always a ride to remember. Start by visiting the Cascade Bicycle Club website and check it out. Register early, there is no limit to how many ride but the record was set in 2010 with 6.029 riders. Chilly Hilly reminds you that winter is no excuse to stop riding spring is just around the corner.